Rage by Jackie Morse Kessler Review

Missy didn’t mean to cut so deep. But after the party where she was humiliated in front of practically everyone in school, who could blame her for wanting some comfort? Sure, most people don’t find comfort in the touch of a razor blade, but Missy always was . . . different.

That’s why she was chosen to become one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: War. Now Missy wields a new kind of blade—a big, brutal sword that can cut down anyone and anything in her path. But it’s with this weapon in her hand that Missy learns something that could help her triumph over her own pain: control.

A unique approach to the topic of self-mutilation, Rage is the story of a young woman who discovers her own power and refuses to be defeated by the world.

My Thoughts:

WOW! Rage was one powerfully emotional story. This book was definitely summed up well by it's title. Each page of this book dripped with Rage. Melissa Miller raged against her life. Melissa raged against her parents, her friends, her school, her ex. Mostly though, Melissa raged against herself.

It was a new experience for me, reading about a self-mutilator. I found Melissa very easy to relate to and understand because I was friends with a girl who cut herself when we were in high school. Melissa's character was so well developed, that I really cringed when she was humiliated at the party like it was my own humiliation. I'm sure for some she will also be a hard character for some to relate to, because she is full of so much hate that it's hard to take sometimes.

I love that Melissa would have an internal struggle between herself and "war" the Horseman of the Apocalypse that she was becoming. War wanted a bloodbath everywhere that she went, and Melissa had to use a lot of control to keep Wars impulses in check.

This series is really a great way to put a paranormal spin on tough issues. I've never read a book about self-mutilation, or another series about the Four Horseman, so both are completely unique to me, which is another plus!